So who is Zoë’s Dad?
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My column, WORLD-COLORED GLASSES appears regulary in the Voices section at
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I am also a contributing author over at
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Let's Roll One
I Got Tagged (Part 2)
So back to the meme part of this little exercise. I think we can easily discern what the first item should be.
#1 I'm easily distracted.
Some time ago, I had in my mind that I was going to be a runner. I ran the mile and the two mile races my freshman year in high school but switched to hurdles my sophomore year because I was afraid of the extremely rigorous training regime of the varsity track coach. He expected more than the leisurely trot of a pace I had so become comfortable with during my freshman year. NO---I never won a race. Imagine that! Anyway, I switched to high hurdles my sophomore year and left distance running behind.
NO---I was not very good at high hurdles. In high school I stood approximately 5'7”, weighed about a buck thirty and had a forty yard dash time somewhere under a minute. As a side, most hurdles I knocked down in a single race---13. All ten of mine plus three in another lane. I was not good.
In fact, in our high school it was understood that all seniors, having completed at least two years of team sports and regardless of ability would receive a varsity letter. That was the only thing that kept me banging my knees on those hurdles year after year. Well, comes time for the sports banquet and coach somehow ...<< MORE >>
And the World Goes on a Spinnin'
I snapped about 6 rolls during our stay and decided when I dropped the film off for developing that I would grab a few of the undeveloped rolls of film I had lying around in an attempt to whittle at that pile. Oh, don't even begin to tell me you don't have one or two rolls of film lying undeveloped somewhere in a drawer. You've got no idea what is on them or when they were taken--but you've got them. I've got a box full. Probably 20-30 rolls of undeveloped film.
It's kind of like giving yourself a special treat or opening an almanac, stepping into a time machine when you finally get around to having the film processed. You exclaim, "Oh, I remember that! That was so much fun. My, the kids have certainly grown." Or you'll comment, "Hmm....I don't remember this. Honey, where was this taken?" Or you may lament, "Oh. My. GOD!!! I honestly thought there was no film in the camera when we did that! We were just playing!"
Anyway, one of the rolls was some black and whites taken just over two years ago. As soon as I opened the package, I remembered exactly when and where they were taken. I had taken the kids into the back yard late one evening. We grabbed a few blankets, the lounge chairs and just sat. We sat looking up into the dark, vast night sky spying stars and planets, hoping to catch a glimpse of a shooting star. We talked, we laughed and we sat. Enjoying the night sky and each other.
It was one of the best nights, ever!
Duracell Can Bite Me
The majority of the day is spent with varying time consuming activities: cleaning, laundry, household chores, shopping, shuttling kids to and from school and sundry activities.....I'm not complaining.......yet. I mean, this is what I do--I'd not have it any other way.
My evenings are spent preparing meals, helping with homework and straightening up from aftermath of the storm that is a house full of energetic children. Again, I'm not complaining.
After the children are sufficiently cleansed and tucked into bed--usually around 8:30 pm--I'll spend the remainder of the evening completing the straightening, cleaning the kitchen and basically molding my posterior into the shape of our couch. Certainly--I'm not complaining.
Around midnight, I'll usually pry myself from the mold (wake up) and plod to bed, the same bed I left some 18 hours earlier. Long days, indeed.
Why then is it, that the batteries in the smoke detectors only seem to die in the middle of the night---last night specifically at 2:30 am?? I'm awake on most days for 18 hours and they can't die during any one of those! For the love of all that is good---why 2:30 am!!?? (Now I'm complaining!!) Dear Lord!!!
And... the damn thing can't just flash a little red light or strobe to let me know which of the seventeen smoke detectors in our house (yes 17, we've done the house fire thing, it's not fun) has a failing battery. No! It emits a periodic chirp. A single chirp!! I meander from room to room dragging the ladder. I stand, naked in the darkness, watching, listening.
A chirp---and like one of Pavlov's Dogs I run towards it. And I wait for a bit more, for another chirp. A ...<< MORE >>
And Then There Were Two
Today, Zia started Pre-K. She was been asking for weeks when school started and it nearly pushed her over the edge to send her big brother and sister off to school last week without her. She was ready--whether I am or not.
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It Looked More Like a Pyramid
Upon hearing my little raccoons awake, I ventured upstairs and tentatively opened the door in anticipation of what I might find.
Zella, sitting on her bed, proudly announced, "It's a castle!" pointing to the mound of fluff she had been meticulously arranging.
"Where did all that stuffing come from?" I asked attempting to follow the fluff trail to ascertain it's origin.
It didn't take me long to find it, a little rabbit, fluff free lying in a clump on the floor between their beds. "Guys, what happened to little bunny?"
"He's dead," Zander flatly stated.
And surely he was.
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Where's Her Bubble?
"MOMMY!!!" "MOMMY, guess what!" "MOMMY, look."
They do not tire in their quest for a moment, a glimmer of attention. It is understandable, I get this. Her busy schedule keeps her away from the house more than she would care to admit. It's the nature of her job. And quite frankly, I'm sure the kids tire of my constant badgering--Stop that!, No!, Get that out of your mouth!, Do not hit your sister!, No, you may not put the cat in the dryer!, I don't care if he's wet, I said no!, And don't even think of using Mommy's good......towels! Ugh!!
I could go on.
Yesterday, we went to the pool. Maura met us there after her shift. The kids went ape crazy in an effort to display the fruits of their labor having toiled at the pool countless hours this summer. Shout's of, "Mommy, watch this!" and "Mommy, Look! Look at me !!" echoed throughout the pool deck. With pride, we took it all in from our lounges near the shallow end of the pool. Then Zia offered.....
"Mommy. Do you want to see my most spectacular (she actually used that word) jump from the diving board?"
Maura: Well of course I do.
And off she scampered.
Beaming, I watched as my little girl climbed the steps to the diving board, skipped to the end, bounced twice and plopped into the water.
Maura: Isn't she supposed to be wearing her bubble?
After about a second or two, Zia's little head pops up.
Me: Yes, she has it on.
Zoe: Uhm, Dad, no she doesn't.
Me: Sure she does. (Looking towards Zia) Doesn't she?
I looked down at my feet, and sure enough Zia's bubble lay there in a heap.
I began a slow trot towards the deep end where Zia's little head was just bobbing in the water. A tiny cough. The lifeguards were standing at the board watching the scene unfold. One of them ...<< MORE >>
Sunday Sonnets----Thanks, John
This week's Sunday Sonnet was inspired by what I can only determine to be the truest testament reflecting how those that are or wish to be in power actually regard me.
Thanks, John
What tiny faction of enlighted souls
Could have possibly thought this prudent?
So tightly controlled. Calculated.
Almost sinister.
Haughty posturing and self
serving idealisms conveyed.
As if you really cared.
Definitely sinister.
Surprising still, is the narrowing chasm.
The margins reduced as we
Continue our fleecing.
Bitter pills, indeed.
And now, Sarah Palin?
Thanks John--we needed that!
In just over two months, every single one of you (of proper age, of course) will have an opportunity. An opportunity to speak your mind, to have your voice heard. Think hard about what you wish to say. Study. Prepare. When your turn comes, do you wish to sound well prepared and intelligent? Or like an idiot!
...<< MORE >>
Gabba Gabba, We Accept You!
“Man,” I thought. “What cool kids I've got.” They were sitting in the living room engrossed in what I thought was a rock-u-mentary chronicling the storied punk rock band, The Ramones. I could hear them chanting—Gabba, gabba.
Cool! I sat down to catch the program myself. Granted, I'm not a huge Ramones fan but I appreciate their music and I figured a documentary about them would surely be pretty interesting.
“That's not Joey Ramone,” I said to no one in particular and everyone just the same.
“Who's Joe? Dad, that's DJ Lance.”
“What in the world are you guys watching?” I asked a little heartbroken, my pride bubble having just been exploded with the visage of my kids engrossed with a group of fuzzy puppets gett'n jiggy wit a DJ in a furry orange fez.
“Dad!! It's Yo Gabba Gabba!” they collectively shouted at me, insinuating “be quiet and let us watch the show!”
I sat. I watched. In silence. In stunned disbelief.
Halfway through the show I felt as if I had just dropped acid and it was starting to kick in. Or maybe the shrooms were turning on me. Either way, this trip was getting freaky!
Have you seen ...<< MORE >>
Zoë Flips Out!
Constant exposure and repetition built confidence. Fingers loosed their grip from the reassuring security of the pool edge and children dared venture into the vast unknown. We had lessons. We played. We splashed. We lived at the pool this summer and my children have reaped the benefits.
It has been difficult to get to the pool this past week with school having started. A cool front also made it's way into town and seems to have lingered, yesterday's high temperatures nearing 74 degrees. But Tuesday before the cool weather arrived, we hit the pool. I'm glad we did.
Zoë, who has been struggling with a proper dive all summer long, decided she was going to try a front flip. No urging or coaching. She just stepped up onto the diving board and announced, "I'm gonna do a flip!" And then proceeded to do it. She smacked a couple of times but undaunted, kept going back. A few pointers and some minor adjustments and the girl had it down.
As fortune would have it--I had my camera. This was taken after her initial rounds of 4 or 5 practices. As you will see, her confidence literally exploded. Oh, and she's not particularly camera shy, either.
...<< MORE >>
I Got Tagged (Part 1)
I got tagged. Twice. I thought they would forget but I guess not. Seems that Karen MEG of A Day in the Life...One Glass at a Time wants to know a group of six things about me. She wanted to know a long time ago (June 26). And more recently Piper of Bliss in Bloom wanted a similar rendition of six things explained about me.
OK. So Maybe I can work the two together to answer the burning questions ergo satisfying the terms of my being it.
I have to ask, though. Why six? Why not three or seven? Isn't seven supposed to be the perfect number? Three is usually the end of the counting chain. Pick up any children's book. A...B...C...One..Two..Three. That's it. And how high do you count before taking a big leap? Three. Right! One, Two, Three...Jump.
Well, I guess in the truest sense that would be four because it's three then jump. Unless of course, you jump on three. Then it's just three and it's all good. Depending on where you may be jumping. Then it may not be so good. From a diving board into the cool refreshing pool below......good. From a tall building into the crowded concrete streets below.....not so good.
Wow. Where did that come from? ...<< MORE >>